Use Of Myths In Bram Stoker's Dracula

The topic I have chosen for my essay is how Dracula is meant to remind society of the importance of religion, specifically Christianity, in Stoker’s time. I intend to do this through analyzing symbols in Dracula, drawing connections between these symbols and Christianity, and analyzing the implications Stoker attempts to make. I chose this topic because vampires and their sacrilegious implications, such as burning when touching a cross, have always been of interest to me, hence why I chose to study Dracula in the first place.

Time, place, and weather play integral roles in the composition of Dracula by Bram Stoker. Setting helps to tell the story, however it also adds to it by changing the mood and incorporating foreboding details. Furthermore, the mood of the story as defined in literary devices, “… refers to a definitive stance the author adopts in shaping a specific emotional perspective towards the subject of the literary work. It refers to the mental and emotional disposition of the author towards the subject, which in turn lends a particular character or atmosphere to the work.” Bram Stoker connects both the setting and mood in the story by incorporating a dark and dreary setting to the characters thoughts and actions in the novel.

The central idea of this excerpt from Dracula was the fear of the prisoner living in the castle of Count Dracula who felt trapped and alone. The authors use of first person point of view of the prisoner was able to develop this central idea of fear because prisoner was able to describe his feelings first hand living in the castle with the Count as well as emphasize the thoughts that were scattered inside of his head during this time.

In Bram Stoker’s gothic novel, Dracula, the overall and fundamental theme of the book is given away the further you read, expressing Stoker’s view of religion. The novel is an account of the paths taken by many different characters such as Count Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra. Since this poem was written with ideas focused primarily on the concepts of evil, as it was viewed during an appearingly-conservative nineteenth and twentieth century society, the book can be seen as a parallel to Eliot’s and others’ own religious quests. While Bram Stoker attempts to acquaint the reader with a frightening tale on the accounts of a dreadful vampire named Count Dracula, he also expresses the goal of strengthening

Seeing is believing, especially when it comes to the supernatural. Throughout Dracula, by Bram Stoker, the clash between science and the supernatural is a recurring theme. At the time, London, England, was in the middle of modernizing society and the science behind it. This included the invention of the phonograph, typewriter, and the way people were thinking. Because of this new era, the English began to discharge the ideas of superstitions. The group struggles to realize the matter of Dracula’s powers because they were being clouded by the era of science. It is only until Van Helsing brings together the ideology of the scientific West and the supernatural East that the group is able to overcome Dracula’s powers and defeat him, which portrays

The presentation of Good vs. Evil is one of the main themes in the novel, Dracula. The portrayal of good and evil is seen in each character throughout the book. The characters considered “evil” in the novel are Dracula and his vampire brides. Dracula converts humans into vampires and has immense power over certain individuals. Everything he does demonstrates that there is no good in him at all. His vampire brides assist to Dracula’s dark deeds. What they all have in common is that they prey upon humans. On the other hand, the characters that are considered “good” in the novel are Jonathan Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, John Seward, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. Throughout the novel, the good characters are constantly doing generous deeds to save others from Dracula.

At first glance, the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker appears to be a typical gothic horror novel set in the late 1890s that gives readers an exciting look into the fight between good and evil. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Dracula is a statement piece about gender roles and expectations for men and women during the Victorian age. Looking at the personalities, actions, and character development of each of the characters in Dracula bring to light startling revelations about Victorian society and how Stoker viewed the roles of men and women during this time period.

According to the Victorian Web, a new and budding author named Bram Stoker entered the world in the year 1847, on the eighth of November. From a young age, Stoker loved to read about folklore, and later on in life he aspired to be an author. Although Stoker published several stories, only in the year 1897 did he publish his most well-known novel, Dracula. After this success, Stoker went on to write several other novels, and eventually died in the year 1912. (Scarborough) His novel, Dracula, tells the tale of five people who encounter and have to deal with the evil undead vampire Count Dracula, who terrorizes them and even causes two out of the five to become undead like himself. Thankfully, the group eventually discovers a way to eventually vanquish Dracula once and for all, and by the end of the book they destroy him, preventing him from terrorizing the people of Europe once and for all. Stoker explores several significant themes in this book, including the theme of deception. In Dracula, Stoker uses the theme of deception with the characterization of Dracula,

The essay I chose to compare Dracula with was “Kiss Me With Those Red Lips: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” by Christopher Craft. The essay explains the sexuality in Dracula, desire, gender, and even homosexuality. Craft mentions his essay gives an account of Stoker’s “vampire metaphor” (Craft 108). He highlights certain and very valid points in the story of Dracula that breaks the Victorian gender role, writing, “a pivotal anxiety of late Victorian culture.” (Craft 108). Craft examines the usual roles of the Victorian men and women, passive women especially, requiring them to “suffer and be still”. The men of this time were higher up on the important ladder of that era. Craft believes the men are the “doers” or active ones in

Vlad the Impaler was a man who lived in and ruled Wallachia, a territory in modern-day Romania, in the 1400's. There are many differing myths and legends surrounding his life and also, his death. Was Vlad actually a vampire or simply a man with a figurative thirst for blood? Is Vlad really dead? Did author Bram Stoker get the ideas for his novel Dracula from the life story of Vlad the Impaler? Researchers and scholars continue to debate this interesting and dark topic and hunt for any evidence of a link between Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The first mention of vampires in literature seeped through from European folklore. In the mid-1700s, a vampire panic swept the Serbian countryside. Victims reported being visited in the night by their recently deceased relatives or neighbors, who throttled the life from them. Those struck by these visions died within days.

In Dracula, Stoker constructed the novel as a series of journal entries and letters from multiple points of view. In doing this, he established an interesting and effective way of telling the story. First, we got an insight to many of the characters’ lives. We were able to experience each characters’ thoughts first-hand rather than through one traditional narrator. If it were through one traditional narrator, it would not be as interesting. Frankly, Stoker would have probably lost me because the way it is written already throws me off. In Dracula, one of the main characters is Dracula—figures. Forthrightly, I actually think Dracula is a character we should sympathize with. First and foremost, Dracula is stuck being who he is. He cannot change

When we think about gothic fiction it is hard not to think about Dracula, a renowned novel written by Irish author Bram Stoker. It was published in 1897 and has set the foundation of the vampire villain character, which is still popular today. Although our current popular culture altered vampire-fiction immensely, Bram Stoker’s Dracula still remains the most popular vampire-fiction novel there is.

The character of Dracula continues to appeal to modern audiences because he is powerful. This power is evidenced in Dietz’s play Dracula when Helsing, one of the most learned men in the world, says, “His power, to this point, has bested our knowledge.” It would take substantial power to best such knowledge. Our desire for power is expressed by Langley in his article about supervillains, “Supervillains…seem to…run unconstrained by rules and regulations.” Essentially, he is saying that supervillains, like Dracula, have the power to do what they want, something many of us may desire. In her article “In Defense of Villainesses,” Sarah Gailey also points out the draw of power. “It’s wonderful and terrible to think about having that much power,”

The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is a complete contradiction of cultural and social norms of the Victorian Era. This era which took place from 1837-1901 had strict ideas about men and women and how they should live their lives. Throughout this novel, there is a complete change of these ideas for this period of time.